Torn Apart
by mistyfoster
Summary: They were a happy family...until their father dies...now they're going to have to fight to survive...especially against the Pataki family, with a mother who has everything to lose...
1. Default Chapter

When I was little I thought my mommy and daddy were perfect in every way. Mommy loved us and never neglected us and daddy, although he was always going away on trips, cause of his job, always showered gifts and kisses and hugs on us when he was home. He was supposed to be home three hours ago. Uncle Gerald and Aunt Phoebe were with us and so were a few other people we knew. I looked at mommy. She had this look on her face that I had never seen before. She was scared. Mommy was never scared.  
  
"Helga" Uncle Gerald said getting up and walking over to mommy. "Maybe you've been replaced," he said. Mommy glared at him. They didn't like each other, and according to daddy never had.  
  
"Now if only he would replace you, we could all be happy" she retorted, her voice dripping with poison. "Oh! Here come's a car now," Aunt Phoebe said. Gerald and Phoebe aren't really our aunt and uncle. But we grew up calling them that so that's what we always called them.  
  
"Jessica, James" she said turning to look at us. The worry had left her face, which was good. I think. She looked out the window again...then suddenly paled. "Oh God," I heard her whisper. She rushed to the door and opened it.  
  
"What's wrong?" Gerald asked getting up. Phoebe looked over at us then at him and shook her head.  
  
"Jessie, James, go find Keith and Keri," she said to us. We turned and started upstairs to the playroom and got the twins and came back down just in time to see mommy collapse and cry. She looked up at us when Keri had said "Mommy?" I looked out and saw the police car driving off and looked again at mommy. She didn't have to tell me anything. I screamed.  
  
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We had never ever met mommy's family and they had never met us. The pain of daddy's death was still fresh in our hearts. No one liked to mention his name. If mommy saw a photo of him or heard his name she burst into tears. It was horrible. The flight attendant told everyone to put up their seats and their trays away and fasten our seat belts because we were landing. We were going to stay with our real aunt, Olga. If I hadn't been so sad I think I would have laughed at the name. What a stupid name. Olga. Then I thought it could be mistaken for Ogre. Mommy laughed when I said this. "If Olga is anything its not an ogre," she muttered and had gone back to packing. We grabbed everything except the kitchen sink (and mommy would have taken that too, if she had known how to remove it) and left. We sold the house and it was sad to give it up. We had so many happy and loving memories there.  
  
Quarter of an hour later our plane landed and we stared getting off. We walked through the tunnel thing that led out to arrivals. Mommy kept telling us to think of it as an adventure. That's what she did. Apparently mommy was good at sticking her head in the sand. A little too good I sometimes thought.  
  
"There she is," mommy said uncertainly looking at a woman who was pretty, in a fake, patronizing way. She looked over at us and smiled. But it wasn't a smile full of warmth and love or even friendliness. It was a show smile. The kind you put on when you were actually incapable of really, truly smiling. I didn't like her.  
  
"Hello Olga" mommy said in a clipped voice. She saw through the disguise too. After all mommy was a REALLY good actress. She used to work at the local theatre and was really popular with the regulars.  
  
"Helga" she said in a voice coated in sugar. Now I didn't trust her or like her. Bad combo as Uncle Gerald would have said. "And these are the...children...you and....Arnold?" she spat the word out like it was a sour lemon. Had? "Cute," she looked at the twins and her eyes started glowing with a really weird light. It made me kind of scared...  
  
"I had twins...a couple of years ago...but one died and the other followed suit not long after..." Her voice trailed off as she continued to look the twins over. She nodded and smiled then lifted her head to glare at mommy. "Well, if your coming hurry up, Jonathan is waiting for us in the car," she said softy and turned on her heel. She started to walk away but stopped and turned to look at the twins. "May I?" she asked me taking Keri's hand and then grabbing Keith's. I looked to mommy to stop her and saw her wearing the strangest expression. She must have known I was watching her for she turned and forced a smile.  
  
"Well let's go," she said and started towards the thing that had people's luggage. We hadn't taken much, just clothes, some toys and anything we had a sentimental attachment to.  
  
When we had our stuff we followed Olga out to the front where she hopped in a car and a shuifour helped mommy put our bags in the boot...then we were off. 


	2. To Auntie Olgas House We Go

"It's a beautiful house Olga, isn't it guys?" Helga asked us. "Yes Mommy," I said. I looked at my brother. He was looking around in fascination. Never had we seen a house so big. "So what's happening to the boarding house?" Olga asked. "Oh, there are still tenants in it, I'm keeping it. I just couldn't stay there, you know?" she told her sister. Helga looked down and missed the small satisfied smirk that crossed Olga's features. But I saw it. "Daddy doesn't know you're here. I moved him in after mommy killed herself," Olga said. Helga's head went up. "When did that happen?" she asked, sounding upset. "About three weeks after you married him," she said. "That him, you keep talking about has a name," I snapped. Olga whirled around and glared at her. "While you're in my house, you will obey my rules, understand?" Olga hissed. I looked to my mother who looked genuinely shocked at this outburst. "One is to not mention your father's name. That goes for you to Helga. I don't want daddy overhearing and getting upset all over again. He narrowly survived his heart attack last time," "When did that happen?" "After you ran off with /i, and then again after mommy's death. He's in a wheelchair you know. He's very sick. Your stunt caused a lot of trouble Helga. I hope you don't plan to do something like that again. Daddy hasn't forgiven you. He knows nothing of your children, so you will have to hide them for a while. The younger ones should be okay to keep down here. I never told him of the death of my twins. I didn't think he would be able to handle it," Olga declared clasping her clasped hands in between her breast. "Probably not," Helga sighed. I looked at my mother, and could barely recognize her. This couldn't be my real mommy. This had to be an impersonator. A really bad, impersonator. Her mother never let her shoulders droop, or her head down with tears ready to burst fourth. My mommy was alive, and feisty and always had to do things her way. The only person she submitted to was daddy. I had a really bad feeling coming in over me. And as I looked out the window to see the sky darkening, the feeling only got stronger . . .  
  
We made our way farther and farther upstairs. "Where a you putting us, the attic?" I snapped. "No. I'm putting you in the East wing. Precautionary reasons of course," Olga told us, "The servants don't come here often," she said. "And you will speak to me with respect," We turned down a long, dark, narrow hallway, which was lined with doors. "Jessica and James will share a room, separate beds. I mean it. I will have no hanky-panky in my house," Olga warned. "Olga! They're brother and sister. I hardly think they will get up to anything, for gods sake!" Helga yelled. "That's what we used to think of you and Arnold," she snapped. "Me and Arnold weren't brother and sister," Helga said through gritted teeth. "No. But you were sinners; you both went behind our backs. Arnold was welcomed into our home and you were trusted to be left alone with each other and look what happened?" Olga said, pointing at me and James. "It's in their blood to sin," "Oh, Olga stop it! Since when were you such a big god-fearing, church- going, bible-bashing psychopath?" Helga asked with zest. 'Go Mommy!' I thought. "Are you saying faithfulness is psychotic?" Olga asked outraged. "Only when your mind puts a brother and sister in bed with each-other because they're parents had pre-marital sex," Helga snapped back, that old fire returning to her eyes. "They will sin, Helga, and it will be yours and his fault," "ARNOLD! His name was Arnold! Not him or he or his. A-R-N-O-L-D!" "Here we go," Olga said, ignoring Helga's yelling. Olga pulled out keys and unlocked the door then pushed it open. They filed inside. br There were two beds, a chest-of-drawers a closet, and a window. Helga put the suitcases down. "The twins can sleep on the next floor down. After daddy dies, which will be very soon, you will be let out," Olga said with an expressionless face. I could see mommy trying to read her sister's face. "I will help them to unpack, and then come down-" "NO! Helga, they a big children, I'm sure they know how to unpack their own stuff, and put it away," she said. She turned to me and James. "This room is to be kept spotless. There is a bathroom through that door, there," she told them pointing to a door they hadn't seen. "The beds will be made every morning. I or you mother will bring up your breakfast at 8am. Lunch will come at 12.30pm and dinner at 6.30. Before each meal you will read a chapter from the good book and say prayer before each meal and before you go to bed at night," Olga told them. Me and James looked at our mother, who looked at Olga shocked. Then at us and smiled. "Sure," James said. Oh how he was like daddy. I was more like mommy. "I guess we could," I agreed reluctantly. "Good. Helga, come on. Father will want to see you," Olga said. I saw mommy shudder. What was the worst thing that grandfather Bob could do to mommy that would make her go that pale and shudder? We watched as they left the room, mommy first, Olga second. Olga looked back at us and smiled. Not the kindly smile that an aunt would use, but a smug smile, the "nya nya nya nya nya" smile. And then she closed the door. And locked it. James went and truned the door handle. "It's locked," he said. "Why the heck would she lock us in a room?" I asked I knew I wouldn't like the answer.  
  
As Olga had said at 6.30om she came in with our dinner. James was playing games with the twins while I sat on a bed and sulked. I couldn't help it. I was miserable, and I missed daddy so much and the door was frigging locked! And to top it off there was no t.v! "I expect you o eat it all. Leave it by the door on this tray, where I will collect it in the morning," she said, then turned to leave. "Wheres mommy?" I asked. She turned and smiled at me. "Talking to our daddy. She will come to see you as soon as she is free to do so," she told me. "Why did you lock the door?" "Our father is very sick, Jessica, the last thing he needs is noisy little children running around the house," she snapped then walked out the door. We heard her lock it in place. "I don like her," keri said. "I wanna go play on da swings" she said. "Me too!" Keith shouted. "Well we cant, not yet. Maybe tomorrow," James said. Optimist. 


End file.
